The group claims that over a five-year period the German carmaker intentionally sold in Australia more than 57,000 modified vehicles that covered up emissions fraud.

Volkswagen marketed the vehicles as being “environmentally friendly, clean burning, low emission and compliant with stringent European standards,” said the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC).

According to the commission, "the software caused the vehicles to produce lower nitrogen oxide emissions when subject to test conditions in a laboratory, but switched to a different mode under normal, on-road driving conditions, resulting in significantly higher emissions being produced by the vehicles."